Saudi Arabia awards preacher who says Muslims can have sex with slaves top prize and £130,000 for services to Islam: “The king of Saudi Arabia has handed his country’s most-prestigious prize to a preacher who has previously said the Koran allows Muslims to have sex with female slaves. Indian cleric Zakir Naik, who has also said 9/11 was an inside job, was handed the King Faisal International Prize for Services to Islam at a glittering ceremony in Riyadh. A physician by training, the Mumbai-based 49-year-old has carved out a career as a charismatic television preacher, but his controversial views have led to him being banned from entering the UK. He founded the Peace TV channel, billed as the world’s only channel specialising in comparative religion, which now reaches an estimated English-language audience exceeding 100million, according to his award citation. ‘Islam is the only religion that can bring peace to the whole of humanity,’ he said in a video biography aired at the ceremony”

A well-fed scenic tour: “WHIPPING up a meal in your own kitchen is hard enough, but imagine doing it on a moving train winding its way through snowy mountains with no opportunity to stop at the local store for ingredients should you forget something. Jean Pierre Guerin has been the Executive Chef of Canada’s Rocky Mountaineer since 2008. A luxury train ride through British Columbia and the Canadian Rockies, his job is to manage a galley kitchen with limited space all while on a moving train. Creating three-course a la carte meals for its guests is no easy feat. To date the kitchen has served up over one million eggs and 500,000 croissants and each season goes through 50,000 eggs and 45,000 pancakes. “It is a moving kitchen, so precision and organisation is key! We are a very close culinary team, and know how to work together very well. The view out of the windows is amazing, which is an added bonus,” says Guerin. Guerin is an award winning chef who has served notable names such as Bill Clinton, Meryl Streep and Lady Diana. He has designed the first class menus of airlines such as Lufthansa before joining the Rocky Mountaineer in 2008.”

Did Homer Simpson discover the HIGGS BOSON?: “He is better known as the hapless, doughnut-obsessed safety officer at Springfield nuclear power plant, but it appears that Homer Simpson may have outwitted some of the brightest minds on the planet. The author of a book looking at the maths hidden within episodes of the Simpsons has discovered that Homer may have predicted the mass of the Higgs boson 14 years before physicists discovered the particle at the Large Hadron Collider in Cern. Dr Simon Singh, a physicist and author, found the solution written on a blackboard in front of Homer during a 1998 episode of the long running cartoon. Speaking to the Independent, Dr Singh said: ‘That equation predicts the mass of the Higgs boson. In fact one of the script writers for the episode, David X. Cohen, was responsible for sneaking in the mathematical equations onto the blackboard. He contacted one of his high school friends, David Schiminovich, who is an astronomer at Columbia University. The first equation on the blackboard was largely based on his work predicting the mass of the Higgs boson – denoted by H0″

Unusual cheeseboard (Brits refer to both cookies and crackers as “biscuits”): “A restaurant customer who asked for cheese and biscuits to finish off her meal was handed a plate of brie, cheddar and red Leicester alongside custard creams, Jammie Dodgers and bourbons. Diane Murray, an NHS assistant director in Ayrshire, was handed the unusual selection of biscuits to accompany the cheese at an as-yet-unnamed hotel restaurant. Ms Murray and her step-daughter Steph Kerr took to Twitter to share news of the bizarre encounter, with the latter writing on the social media site: ‘If you need cheering up, here’s a photo of the time my stepmum asked for cheese and biscuits at a hotel.’ She accompanied the post with a photograph of the ‘cheeseboard’, which revealed a few lumps of cheese in a white bowl surrounded by the popular sweet biscuits.”

Strange “Gingerbread House”: “Grayson Perry’s unusual Gingerbread House holiday home has been branded an ‘abomination’ by local villagers inundated with art fans flocking to see the property. The Turner Prize-winning artist teamed up with the organisation Living Architecture to design the unique holiday cottage in the sleepy village of Wrabness. But locals – who battled the original plans – claim art fans flocking to catch a glimpse of the artist’s creation are clogging up the narrow streets. The local council has already been forced to redesign surrounding roads and car parks to accommodate the influx of art fans. Wrabness Parish Council strongly objected to the proposal to knock down the existing farmhouse and replace it with the imposing structure that combines sculptures, tapestries and ceramics. The original plans for the home were turned down by Tendring District Council but a re-submitted application for the wacky home was given the green-light by planners. The finished work – which can be seen from miles around – includes ceramic tiles featuring safety pins, old-style tapes, hearts and the word ‘Julie’.”

Irish thief is knocked out after he throws a brick at a car window which then rebounds and strikes him in the head: “A dozy car thief was knocked clean out after he tried to steal a new Mercedes coupe from outside a pub by throwing a brick at the driver’s side window which bounced back, striking him in the head. The thief was found lying in the road near the Pheasant Bar by the pub’s owner who automatically assumed that the man had been injured in hit-and-run. However, when Gerry Brady asked the man what happened, he said he had been ‘attacked’ but did not want to call the police or an ambulance. Soon, it emerged what had happened when Mr Brady and his partner noticed some damage to the paintwork on his new car. He told the Irish Examiner newspaper: ‘My partner then noticed the damage to her car, I had a look at the Merc and could see dents on it. We got the cops and they took him away after we showed them the CCTV. ‘We have the whole thing on CCTV, and it’s quite hilarious.'”

The twins that EVERYONE can tell apart!: “One has straight ginger hair, a fair complexion and deep blue eyes. The other has masses of curls, far darker skin and her eyes are a sparkling brown. With such opposing looks it’s hard to believe this striking pair are sisters. But they are much more than that – they are twins. The girls were born with radically different colouring thanks to a quirk of their mixed-race parentage. Lucy and Maria Aylmer’s mother Donna is half Jamaican and their father Vince is white, and together they managed to produce one white twin and one black twin. Non-identical twins come from separate eggs, so inherit different genes. The girls’ half-Jamaican mother carries genes for both white and black skin. By chance, Lucy will have inherited genes for white skin and Maria will have genes that code for black skin. People with Afro-Caribbean heritage often have some European DNA, dating back in many cases to the slave trade. This increases the chance of them passing on a gene for white skin to at least one twin.

Desperate fatty: “A woman has defended her decision to send $1.4 million to her online lover in Africa – who she has never met. Twice-divorced Sarah met Chris Olsen online 18 months ago. Though the mysterious man’s accent has changed over time, and he keeps asking for money to be wired to various different countries, Sarah insists she is ’95 per cent certain’ that he is telling her the truth. Despite his numerous attempts to come home so they can be together, she says, he keeps getting arrested on false charges. In an interview with Dr Phil, Sarah explained that they speak for hours on the phone each day. She described the moment they met on the internet: ‘An attractive person came on there and said “wow you look like you wouldn’t hurt a fly”. I said “wow this guy’s really handsome, I can’t believe he’s talking to me!”‘ He told her he was called Chris Olsen, who hailed from Milan but moved to the U.S. 18 years ago. Currently, she says, he is based in Africa on business, and has been for more than a year and a half. When they met he said he was in South Africa. Last June, she even had to sell an apartment she owned to wire him $550,000 bail.”

Singer jumps off stage to save man in audience: “Tonight Alive frontwoman Jenna McDougall leaped from the stage during her band’s Soundwave set in Brisbane on Sunday to help a fan pinned to the ground and choked by security guards. The fan, according to testimony from festival goers, had crowd-surfed to the front of the stage and ended up on the other side of the front fence. Pictures and a video recorded in the crowd appear to show at least one security with his hand around the pinned fan’s throat. Ms McDougall pleads with the guards to let go of the fan, repeatedly telling them ‘he’s cool’ before attempting to physically get free the crowd surfer. The singer can be heard telling security to ‘get the f*** outta here,’ as she tries to help the fan back to his feet. Security guards eventually released the man, who got a hug and high-five from the lead singer for his efforts before she climbed back on stage to continue the performance.”

Dogs bred from wolves helped humans take over from Neanderthal rivals in Europe 40,000 years ago: “Humans paired up with dogs as early as 40,000 BC, it is claimed, giving us such an advantage in hunting that it prompted the wipeout of our Neanderthal rivals. The controversial theory has been put forward in a new book by leading anthropologist Pat Shipman of Pennsylvania State University. She has challenged the common scientific view that wolves were only domesticated just over 10,000 years ago, after early humans had already asserted a strong foothold in Europe. Instead, she said, humans began taming and breeding wolves – leading to the pets we know today – soon after they arrived on the continent from Africa up to 70,000 years ago. At the time, our close genetic relatives the Neanderthals were dominant in Europe, fighting for survival as they hunted creatures such as woolly mammoths with primitive tools. But soon afterwards the rival species died out, leaving a clear path for the homo sapiens that make up today’s humans. ‘Early wolf-dogs would have tracked and harassed animals like elk and bison and would have hounded them until they tired. Then humans would have killed them with spears or bows and arrows. ‘Then we shared the meat. It was a win-win situation.’

The forest dragon lizard was spotted in the unusual pose by professional photographer Aditya Permana in Yogyakarta, Indonesia

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THE NEWS

Odd news from around the world

Australian teenager who miraculously came back from the dead: “The parents of an 18-year-old boy who suffered a devastating brain haemorrhage while diving for cray fish have hailed his recovery a ‘miracle’ after doctors told them their son would not survive and set the wheels in motion for his organs to be donated. Simon had no idea that an Arteriovenous Malformation (AVM) in Ben’s brain which had been lying dormant since his birth had ruptured and caused life threatening bleeding. When they reached the hospital Ben was quickly given a CT scan which discovered the AVM in his head. ‘The bleed was so extensive they said the outcome wasn’t good… that became real to us and they asked whether we would be keen on donating Ben’s organs,’ Simon said. While a nurse did routine checks for any movement Ben miraculously responded. A tense seven hour operation with no guarantees followed and finally at around 3am the family got the call to say Ben had made it. Amazingly Ben has suffered no serious brain damage and doctors predict he will be fully recovered within two years with therapy.”

Picasso worth more than $2.5m that was stolen from Paris storage room in 2001 turns up in New York: “A Pablo Picasso painting worth more than $2.5 million that was snatched from a storeroom has been found after being smuggled to the US labeled as ‘art craft.’ Documents found with the artwork, known as ‘La Coiffeuse’ or ‘The Hairdresser,’ falsely said it was a Christmas present and worth just $30. Authorities say the painting by the cubist master has been missing for more than a decade after it disappeared from a storeroom at the Pompidou Centre in Paris in November 2001. It was found by U.S Customs and Border Patrol in Long Island after they became suspicious about a package shipped from Europe via Belgium in December. The painting was sent via Fedex from a man named only as ‘Robert’ to the climate-controlled storage facility, according to the New York Post. It was marked ‘Art Craft- 30 Euros – Merry Christmas.’ Homeland Security Investigations took hold of the painting and flew in art experts from France to examine the canvas, the newspaper said. The painting was today being kept under strict security conditions in Brooklyn. The painting is now set to be returned to France.”

Old lady received letter from taxman claiming she was DEAD: “A pensioner was left ‘shocked and upset’ after she received a letter from the taxman claiming she was dead. Shirley Featherstone, 79, opened the letter from HM Revenue & Customs addressed to her family, asking them to pay death duties on their ‘dead’ mother’s estate. The widow said the post, which dropped through her letterbox earlier this week, left her ‘angry and worried’ about whether the blunder might lead to her pension being taken away. Mrs Featherstone said she immediately phoned up HMRC after the troubling letter arrived at her home in Gosport, Hampshire. ‘I am fortunate that at my age I am a strong person, but if it went to a person with a weak heart or something you never know what could have happened.’ She added: ‘When I rang them up, the phone said “press one for this and press two for that”, but there was no number to let them know that I’m still alive. A spokeswoman for HMRC apologised for the error.

Archaeology student discovers ‘outstanding’ Anglo-Saxon pendant worth £50,000 in first-year dig: “A first-year archaelogy student has unearthed an Anglo-Saxon pendant of ‘national significance’ worth £50,000. Tom Lucking, 23, was stunned when he stumbled across an Anglo-Saxon grave on farmland near Diss, Norfolk. He had been metal detecting since he was 11 but had only ever found common medieval buckles and coins. He enrolled on a landscape history course at the University of East Anglia in September, making the incredible discovery just months later. The dig unearthed a number of coins and jewellery alongside the female skeleton who is believed to have royal connections. The three-inch jewel encrusted pendant is thought to be the most valuable of the lot with treasure experts describing it as an ‘outstanding’ piece. ‘It would have been worn on a loop like a piece of jewellery and because it is so elaborate it shows she would have been quite high up. Coins in the grave have suggested the skeleton and jewellery date from between 630 and 650AD. It will go to a treasure inquest now then the proceeds of a sale will be split between Tom, the landowner and some other people on the dig.

An unusual wedding in Australia’s wild North: “What was meant to be a joyous and romantic evening for a newlywed couple instead became a horror scene when the groom head-butted and choked his bride. Police were called to a home at Fannie Bay in Darwin on Friday night, where they were met by the 29-year-old ‘intoxicated’ and ‘dishevelled’ groom who was still in his dress shirt after being married earlier that night. ‘Apparently an argument began at the wedding reception when the groom called his new father in law a very unsavoury name,’ Northern Territory Duty Superintendent Louise Jorgensen said. The man is alleged to have thrown his wife to the ground and kicked her before neighbours intervened. He was arrested and spent the night in custody and a Domestic Violence order is expected to be obtained. ‘Police, witnesses, friends and family were appalled by this situation and needless to say the future of this short union does not augur well,’ Supt Jorgensen said.

Islamic ‘leaning tower of PIZZA’ evokes mockery: “When hapless Islamic State militants vowed to take over Rome and ‘throw homosexuals off the leaning tower of pizza’, Italians responded with a flood of mocking responses. Now, Twitter users have jokingly suggested other culinary hotspots for militants to visit with the hashtag #jihadifoodtour. If they’re planning a visit to the UK, jihadi tourists can take in the ‘London Pie’, ‘Sconehenge’, ‘Big Ben and Jerrys’ and the ‘Angel Cake of the North’. Other must-visit foodie destinations suggested include the ‘Trifle Tower’, ‘The Great Wall of Quinoa’ and the ‘Sydney Okra House’. It was referring to a blunder made by an Islamic State supporter last week – who mistakenly confused the Leaning Tower of Pisa with the dish Italians are famous for. He had threatened to bring sharia law to the Italian capital in a message, posted on a Twitter account linked to the terror group.

Cunning British burglar snared by a single drop of blood: “Carl Chang was in the process of breaking into a home in Maidstone, Kent, on June 27 last year, when he got a tiny nick on his hand as he smashed a kitchen window to sneak in. The lone drop of blood was spotted by forensics officers, who were called to the scene within hours of the offence taking place, in which cash and jewellery were stolen. Despite Chang, 26, cleaning the window and various doors with cleaning fluid in a bid to get rid of his fingerprints and any traces he had been there, he didn’t notice to single drop of his blood on the kitchen doorstep by the smashed window. The serial crook, who had only recently been released from jail after serving time for another burglary, was arrested after cops traced his DNA to previous break-ins in the Kent area.”

Nutty British supermarket: “A 50-year-old shopper was asked for ID when he tried to buy a £2.60 bag of mixed nuts and a pair of bananas from Tesco. Tony Morris fancied a snack as he made his way home from dinner on Tuesday night, so popped into his local supermarket in Carlton Hill, Nottingham. But the peckish housing association manager was shocked and ‘embarrassed’ when the self-service checkout warned the salted mixed nuts were an age-restricted product. A security guard and a Tesco worker approached Mr Morris after the ‘ID required’ message – usually reserved for alcohol, age-rated DVDs and painkillers – appeared on the screen. ‘They let me go but it was embarrassing as everyone was looking at me.’ The shopper, who paid £2.60 for the mixture of Brazil nuts, cashews, almonds, hazelnuts and pecans, as well as 29p for the pair of bananas, said he did not know if he would return to the store after the incident. A Tesco spokeswoman said: ‘We don’t age restrict the sale of nuts – our store team have rechecked all the nuts in the store to ensure this is the case.”

Toyboy becomes stuck inside his cheating lover: “Police had to be called in to restore order after a crowd gathered to see a cheating wife and her lover locked together during sex after the rumour spread that her husband had asked a witch doctor to put a curse on her private parts. And although medical experts say the embarrassing experience was more likely a case of ‘penis captivus’, in which the woman’s vagina had contracted too much and trapped the man’s penis, they were unable to stop the rumour and the mob had quickly assembled. Local media said that unfaithful Sasha Ngema, 34, had reportedly been romping with toyboy Sol Qoboza, 22, at a rented apartment in the city of Johannesburg in South Africa while her husband was away on business. The shocked couple began calling for help, which soon turned into screams as they became more desperate for him to withdraw, according to local media. Penis captivus is a rare occurrence in intercourse when the muscles in the vagina clamp down on the penis much more firmly than usual (a form of vaginismus), making it impossible for the penis to withdraw from the vagina.

Teenager given an non-urgent appointment at a British hospital – in 2099: “A teenager who tried to book a consultation at hospital was told to come back for an appointment in 84 years’ time. Yasmin Tisbury, 19, was referred for an ultrasound scan at Lister Hospital in Stevenage, Hertfordshire by her GP after complaining of stomach pains. But a month later, she received a letter telling her she had an appointment at 11am on Thursday January 1, 2099. The student will be 103 years old by the time she finally gets the scan – but as January 1 is a bank holiday, doctors may not even be working on that day. Miss Tisbury was put on hold for an hour before she was able to speak to the hospital to sort out the IT blunder. ‘It’s just a mix-up but I just wanted to get the date sorted. I have already had to wait a month to get the appointment and obviously I am worried about that. After tweeting about her bizarre experiences, Miss Tisbury was given a new appointment for next Tuesday.”

Crooked Frogs caught: “A BUNBURY restaurant which used the power of social media to shame a couple who they claims ordered hundreds of dollars of food and wine and left without paying has been reimbursed – by the pair themselves. The couple, who were speaking French, racked up a $230 bill in the Western Australia eatery, but left their empty wallets on the table while they went outside to have a smoke, and never returned. Fed-up restaurant owners Juliana Frisina and Noel Brunning decided enough was enough and the couple’s image was soon posted to the restaurant’s 4000 Facebook followers. But they never expected the post to generate thousands of shares within hours. The couple’s image, uploaded in a post on Sunday night, and quickly generated more than 31,000 shares. The restaurant – owned by TV pundit Noel Brunning – said the pair had returned to pay their bill after being tracked down to a farm in Manjimup, WA. They were reportedly fired by their boss, but the restaurant has decided not to take matters any further.”

KFC to launch EDIBLE coffee mugs made from biscuit and chocolate: “The next time you order a cup of coffee from KFC, you may literally be having a sweet brew. The fast food brand’s foray into crockery has seen its research team develop 100 per cent edible coffee cups made from a ‘unique’ biscuit, wrapped in sugar paper and lined with a layer of heat-resistant white chocolate. The white chocolate lining, which keeps the coffee hot and the cup crispy, melts over time, slowly softening the biscuit to reveal a ‘melt-in-the-mouth’ snack. The restaurant developed the cups to celebrate the launch of Seattle’s Best Coffee in its outlets. Created in partnership with renowned food scientists, The Robin Collective, the sweet treats also have an added benefit of being infused with a selection of subtle scents that compliment the coffee experience and are known to improve moods. The Scoff-ee Cup is currently under development and not yet available for customers in store.”

Why do we have eyelashes? “WHY do humans and other mammals have eyelashes? Experts have been batting rival theories around for years. Eyelashes are dust catchers, snaring things that would otherwise drift into the eye, went one idea. Or they were sensors, acting like a cat’s whiskers, to warn the eye of windborne grit or other dangers, according to another hypothesis. Some suggested that eyelashes were for expression — to enhance the impact of the eye for communication or sexual allure. In fact, said a team of biologists on Wednesday, the answer is a little less romantic: eyelashes direct airflow around the eye to shield it from airborne particles, bacteria, viruses and mites. And they prevent the protective coating of tears on the eyeball — a mix of mucus, oil and water — from drying out. Delving into the enigma, Hu’s team measured the lashes of 22 mammal species, from hedgehogs to humans. In all of them, the length of the eyelash was about one-third of the width of the eye, the probe found — optimal for minimising airflow over the eye surface without obstructing vision. The study also suggests that false eyelashes could be a weapon against “dry eye””

A REALLY comprehensive insurance policy: “A new life insurance policy is set to cover every eventuality…including being exterminated by Daleks, crushed by a Transformer or killed in a ‘Sharknado’! Virgin Money will also pay out in the unfortunate event of being killed by Martian death rays or eaten by the Loch Ness monsters. And in a nod to Ghostbusters, being crushed by a giant man made of marshmallow is covered too in the bizarre list of acceptable causes of death by the insurer. But wacky as they are, there is a serious point, says the financial giant, as they hope it highlights just how little people take life insurance seriously in the first place. But they hope it will encourage people to realise that while this is unlikely to happen, real chances of accidental death are far more likely than many realise. A poll of 16,000 British adults recently found only 23 per cent have a life insurance policy, falling to just 15 per cent in London though rising to 31 per cent in Northern Ireland.”

Sex in the movies: “There was breathless excitement when an immensely raunchy, bestselling novel was adapted for the screen, with overwrought cinema-goers queuing in their droves to see it. But this was not Fifty Shades Of Grey. This was The Sheik, in 1921. And it starred Rudolph Valentino, whose sex appeal was such that when he died only five years later, aged just 31, some of his more committed female fans responded to the news by killing themselves. Unsurprisingly, it was randy Europeans who introduced sex to Hollywood. In Ekstase, a Czech film of 1933, a young Hedy Lamarr is shown in obvious post-orgasmic bliss. The film was duly seized by U.S. Customs and prosecuted for obscenity. Not much did get past the Hays Office — including Margaret Lockwood’s cleavage in The Wicked Lady (1945), the first British film to be cut before U.S. audiences were allowed to see it. Forshaw suggests the censors were so distracted by Jane Russell’s gravity-defying embonpoint [See above] in The Outlaw (1943) that they missed distinct hints of homoeroticism elsewhere in the film.

Idiot joyriders caught after police find string of photos taken inside luxury stolen cars: “Two joyriders who had stolen luxury cars worth more than £100,000 were caught after police found a string of photos taken inside the vehicles pinned on one of the offender’s bedroom wall. Connor Daniels and Jordan Irving stole a number of high-end cars including an a BMW 3 Series, a Mercedes A-Class and an Audi TT, in a series of raids on homes in Manchester. The men were caught after pictures of them posing in the stolen vehicles were discovered by officers searching Daniels’ bedroom. Daniels, 19, also posted images of himself on Facebook. Daniels and Irving took the cars during a 10-month stealing spree, ending last June, Manchester Crown Court heard. There was no evidence that they earned any money on the stolen vehicles. Daniels, from Manchester, was handed a suspended two-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to 10 counts of handling stolen goods. He was ordered to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work.

Invasion of the Snow People!: “Old Man Winter has dropped so much snow in North America in the last few months people are running out of places to put it all – so they’re tunneling through it instead. Pictures of snow tunnels have been popping up on social media for the past few weeks and they will probably keep coming as long as the Siberian Express and other storms continue to roll in. A Canadian couple got nearly two stories of snow in their backyard, so they only way to get to their cars was to dig. Marcel Landry of Prince Edward Island was out digging for nearly seven hours before completing a snow tunnel that reached his car. The tunnel Landry created was 25-feet long and six-feet high in some places, the Journal Pioneer reported. He originally started with a smaller tunnel, but realized it could collapse on him. In order to determine which direction to dig, he used the emergency button on his keys to make his car horn go off.

Mystery tunnel is found yards from Toronto stadium: “A sophisticated tunnel has been discovered near a major sports venue and a university in Toronto, sparking new terror fears as Canada remains on edge over the threat of possible extremist attacks. A municipal worker was walking through woods close to the city’s Rexall Centre last month when he spotted a piece of corrugated metal on the ground, the public broadcaster CBC said on Monday. After lifting up the metal, he uncovered the passageway, also situated near York University. It was around seven meters (23 feet) long, 2.5 meters (eight feet) tall, and was lit by an electric generator. The walls and ceilings had been reinforced and tools had been left inside. Officials also discovered a set of rosary beads and a Remembrance Day poppy, both nailed to a wall, according to reports. Toronto is hosting the Pan American Games in July and the Rexall Centre is one of the venues. The facility is also used for major tennis events. In August, it will host the Rogers Cup women’s contest. Although national security officials have been alerted to the tunnel, there was no immediate suggestion that it posed a threat to the Rexall Centre, CBC said.

Horse given a second chance after it was rescued from the knackery wins point-to-point race: “A horse given a second chance when he was rescued from an abattoir has won a point-to-point race just 18 months later. Oscar Flyer was saved by Valerie and Keith Welton, of Cattal, West Yorkshire, who paid just £300 for the injured steed – and were given £10 back for good luck. The ex-hurdler, which formerly trained with Tim Vaughan, was coached back to health by their son Sam Welton, 25, and his 32-year-old partner Carolyn Woods. And almost two years after he last competed, Oscar Flyer made a superb comeback and claimed the top spot at the South Durham Farmers three-mile point-to-point race on Sunday. After dedicating the last 12 months to training him, Sam Welton rode Oscar Flyer to victory himself and the pair claimed the £150 prize money, recording the fastest time of the day. ‘I actually thought he was a bit of a cowardly horse but he proved not to be – he was really tough that day and battled it out to the line. He was brilliant.’”

Police raid woman’s birthday party after ’21’ balloon in window looks like IS: “A Swedish couple were mistaken for Islamic State supporters when passers by mistook the birthday balloons in the window saying ’21’ as ‘IS’ – an abbreviation for the terrorist group. They were in the window for Sarah Ericsson’s birthday party held at her boyfriend’s house last weekend according to Kvalls Posten, who reported the police came knocking on Monday. Someone saw the balloons from outside Fabian Akesson’s home in Karlskrona and reported it as Islamic State propaganda. Mr Akesson added: ‘I laughed about it and even showed them a picture that we took. And from that perspective, it looked almost like the letters ‘IS’.’ Despite the huge misunderstanding, the couple were still asked to take down the balloons to avoid further attention being drawn to their house. ‘We understand why someone would report it if they thought it looked like IS-propaganda, although everyone else just thought it looked like the number ’12’ from outside,'”

The doctor said, “Harry, the good news is I can cure your headaches. The bad news is that it will require castration. You have a very rare condition, which causes your testicles to press on your spine and the pressure creates one hell of a headache. The only way to relieve the pressure is to remove the testicles”

I was shocked and depressed. I wondered if I had anything to live for. I had no choice but to go under the knife.

When I left the hospital, I was without a headache for the first time in 20 years, but I felt like I was missing an important part of Myself. As I walked down the street, I realized that I felt like a different person. I could make a new beginning and live a new life.

I saw a men’s clothing store and thought, that’s what I need… A new suit… I entered the shop and told the salesman, “I’d like a new suit.”

Going underground! Couple fall through sink hole that appeared without warning in South Korea: “The man and woman had just stepped off a bus at a transport hub in the capital Seoul when the ground beneath their feet gave way. CCTV then shows the unidentified pair disappearing from view after being swallowed up by the sink hole. Stunned onlookers can be seen rushing over and peering down into the 10ft deep hole in the pavement. Emergency crews, including firemen, were called to the scene and pulled the couple to safety. According to ITV, the sink hole appeared close to a building site where a pair of 39-storey apartment blocks are being constructed. It reports that an investigation has been launched by both Seoul Metropolitan City officials and the Korean Geotechnical Society to establish why the hole appeared. Despite their horrifying ordeal, the couple involved escaped with minor injuries and were taken to hospital for observation.

This girl is a little princess — for real: “She might be just one year old but Sweden’s Princess Leonore, who celebrates her first birthday today, is well on her way to emulating her mother’s stellar sense of style. New photos of the toddler, which were released to mark her big day, show her perched in a gilt-edged arm chair and wearing a delicate rose-pink dress. Her besotted mother, 32-year-old Princess Madeleine, captioned the pictures: ‘Leonore, our little sunshine turns 1 year old today!’ Leonore’s birthday comes at the start of a busy year for the Swedish royals, with 2015 set to include a royal wedding and the arrival of a little brother or sister for the one-year-old. In December, Madeleine, who is fourth-in-line to the Swedish throne, announced she was expecting a second child with her husband, British businessman Christopher O’Neill. Unlike Princess Leonore, who was born in New York’s Weill Cornell Medical Center, the new baby will be born in Stockholm following her parents’ move to the city last summer.”

Britain keeping chocolate safe: “It’s a chocoholic’s worst nightmare: a disease ravages cocoa crops, causing a worldwide chocolate shortage and the price of sweets to soar. But a steamy greenhouse near London is helping to ensure that cocoa crops around the world remain disease-free. The International Cocoa Quarantine Centre (ICQC) is nurturing quarantined cocoa plants so that they can be shared with cocoa-producing countries to produce new, more disease-resistant varieties. Inside the ICQC, the plants thrive tropical conditions where the air is a balmy 23°C (73 °C). ‘Cocoa plants are generally quite difficult plants to grow,’ said Heather Lake, a technician at the newly-revamped centre, which is funded half by the British chocolate industry and half by the US government. ‘They don’t like too much sunlight, they don’t like too much shade. It’s quite difficult to get the climate correct.’ Hosted by the University of Reading and situated in the village of Arborfield, west of London, the ICQC boasts 400 cocoa plant varieties, grown in 10,760 square feet (1,000 square metres) of greenhouse space. The Mokaya and pre-Olmec people of Mesoamerica first roasted and ground cocoa beans to make ‘chocolate’.

Dragonflies see in Ultra HD: Winged insects have the best vision in the animal kingdom: “They are instantly recognisable thanks to their distinctive wings, long bodies and bulbous eyes. Now scientists have discovered that dragonflies have the best vision in the animal kingdom. While humans can see colours as a combination of red, blue and green, the insect has up to 33 different types of light sensitive proteins, meaning that it can see more colours and details. Opsins are light sensitive proteins found in the retinas of humans and animals. By comparison, humans have tri-chromatic vision, meaning we seen in red, blue and green thanks to three opsins. While it is impossible for scientists to see the world through a dragonfly’s eyes, the researchers think they are probably able to see more colours than humans. Previous studies have found that each of a dragonfly’s bulbous eyes are made up of up to 30,000 facets, which contain the opsins. Each facet points in a slightly different direction, enabling dragonflies to see in all directions at the same time.

Boko Haram terrorists caught after disguising themselves as women… but not shaving their beards off: “Beard-wearing militants belonging to West Africa’s brutal Boko Haram Islamic terror organisation have been dressing as women in a hopeless attempt at avoiding the attention of security officials. Nigerian defense forces liberating the town of Baga from jihadi control yesterday set up a cordon around the suburbs to help them catch any Boko Haram militants who had been unable to escape. The security workers were shocked to come across several fleeing fighters trying to pass themselves off as females by putting on layers of colourful women’s clothing – despite the fact they had refused to shave their thick jihadi beards. A statement signed by Major General Chris Olukolade said, ‘The searches are also yielding more discoveries of arms especially bombs hidden in various locations, especially Baga town’ local media outlet Vanguard reported.

Missing wedding ring found by friend after SIX YEARS: “When lifeboatman Mark Thorne lost his wedding ring in the sea during an emergency call-out, he pulled out all the stops to get it back. He scoured the shoreline with a metal detector and even searched for it underwater using scuba gear, before finally giving up hope. Now, six years later, he has finally been reunited with the precious piece of jewellery after a friend stumbled across it during a walk at low tide. Mr Thorne’s platinum ring, which has a distinctive dent, came off his finger and plopped into the water in 2009 as he helped to launch a lifeboat in Weymouth Harbour, Dorset. It was eventually found by his friend Steve Woolford who had taken a stroll along the shoreline. Mr Woolford said he had remembered the lost ring and thought ‘you never know, it’s worth a look’ – before spotting it glinting in the mud.”

Forget ‘Earth-Like’ worlds: ‘Eyeball planets’ could be more likely to have alien life: “Astronomers have so far focused their search for alien life on planets that are similar to our own. But extra-terrestrial beings could be residing on worlds that look like giant eyeballs instead, according to one researcher. These planets have one side permanently gazing at their host red dwarf star because they are ‘tidally locked’ in the same way that moon is to Earth. Sean Raymond in Nautilus explains that if you were standing on the surface of a planet like this, the sun would remain fixed in one spot on the sky. As a result, these ‘eyeball’ planets have a permanent day side and permanent night side. A hot eyeball planet is located close to its star, on an orbit that makes it hotter overall than Earth. The day side would be roasting with any water boiling into vapour, while the night side would be freezing. But at the terminator – the boundary between night and day – conditions could be just right for life to thrive.

Pet pussycats with a difference: “Two hunters from an ancient tribe show no fear as they use a bow and arrow to catch their dinner – just yards from a fully grown cheetah. Photographer Jack Somerville, 26, captured the spectacular images in the Naankuse Wildlife Reserve in central Namibia, Africa. The tribesmen appear to be entirely comfortable standing next to the potentially dangerous animal as they go about their work. Mr Somerville, from north London, took the pictures after spending time with the San people, who are members of indigenous hunter-gatherer people in southern Africa. They can also be called ‘bushmen’ or ‘basarwa’ and their territories span Botswana, Namibia, Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa. Even though the cheetah was born in the wild and is not tame, these two huntsmen seem so in tune with nature that they are comfortable with being around potentially dangerous animals. ‘The San have a deep respect for wildlife, due to co-existing alongside them for centuries. The San are thought to be the oldest living culture on earth.

How an autistic boy’s sixth birthday party was saved: “WHEN an autistic boy’s classmates all failed to turn up to his sixth birthday party, his local community and emergency services rallied to give him an unforgettable celebration. Ashlee Buratti, of St Cloud, Florida, invited her son Glenn’s class of 16 children to his party on February 8, but no one came. “He’s really sensitive,” she added, saying he became upset when she eventually had to tell him no one was coming. Frustrated, 25-year-old Ms Buratti took to the Osceola Rants Raves and Reviews List on Facebook, which has around 10,000 members. Members of the group responded, some asking if they could bring their kids around that day. About 15 kids and 25 adults — complete strangers — showed up to the house for cake and games. “One lady brought him a brand new bike,” Ms Buratti said. Three days later, members of the local Sheriff’s office and fire service visited Glenn at home to wish him a belated birthday, bring gifts and giving him a tour of their vehicles. A rescue helicopter even flew overhead, low enough so Glenn could see the pilot waving.”

Road to be re-marked after contractors paint line over leaves and debris: “AN EMBARRASSING road marking blunder will be re-done after photos of the dodgy line work emerged on Facebook. The photos show a freshly marked section of Mt Nebo Rd with a white line painted over leaves and debris on the edge of the road. A concerned resident posted the photo online this week along with the caption “Nice one MBRC”. Moreton Bay Regional Councillor Bob Millar was quick to respond on Facebook. “I am sitting with the director (of engineering construction and maintenance). I won’t repeat his comment. It is a contractor that does line marking, not council staff. The roads maintenance manager is talking to the contractor as I write,” he posted. “They were actually doing this job at night so it’s not beyond the bounds of possibility that in the darkness the operator for the company contracted to council has missed it.”

That’s Tasmania down the bottom, not Queensland. A tribute to a modern American education?

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THE NEWS

Odd news from around the world

Human kindness came before speech: “Early humans carried pebbles shaped like babies’ faces and appeared to care for disabled children in a sign they developed kindness and compassion millions of years before intelligence, researchers have claimed. Researchers point to a skull, dating back 1.5 million years, found with no teeth, suggesting people in the group may have helped this early human find soft food to survive. And evidence of tracks found in east Africa – dating back 3.5million years – appear to show adults being followed by a child. The findings, revealed in a study by Penny Spikins of York University, undermine current theories that early humans were characterised by violence and competition, killing each other in a desperate battle to survive. ‘Evolution made us sociable, living in groups and looking after each one another, even before we had language, ‘ Spikins, a human origins researcher, told the Sunday Times. ‘Our success since then, including the evolution of intelligence, all sprang from that.'”

Is The Simpsons actually set in Australia: “Less than two weeks after The Simpsons producer dismissed a theory that Homer has been in a coma for two decades, an astronomer has come up with another conspiracy: Springfield is in the southern hemisphere. In the latest episode of the show, SpaceX’s Elon Musk guest starred and spends time at the Simpsons’ home. At one point he stands by the dining room window, looking out at the night sky as the family sits behind him eating dinner. The waxing crescent moon is important to note, according to astronomer Phil Plait. In the northern hemisphere, the tips of a waxing crescent moon face left, pointing away from the sun. But in The Simpsons’ scene with Musk, the tips of the waxing crescent moon face right – how they would in the southern hemisphere. ‘This is the moment that changed everything for me. The frozen moment of time when I realized that for 22 years, The Simpsons has been lying to us,’ Plait wrote on Slate. But the fact that there are places called Springfield in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, makes this theory entirely possible.”

Giant rats: “A woman was left horrified after she spotted a giant rat outside her home in north London. Katie Firth photographed the rodent, which she estimated to be between 16 and 18 inches, as it peered through her back door in fashionable Belsize Park. The sighting comes as pest controllers revealed the shocking epidemic of mutant rats – some as big as cats – across the UK. The rodents, which have been seen been seen across the country over the past year, are twice as large as normal species and cannot be killed with traditional substances. One rodent measuring 20-inches was recently spotted at a food establishment in Swindon, Wiltshire. Kevin Higgins, of the British Pest Control Association, said rat numbers were going up by about 15 per cent each year – and the boom was driven by the availability of food. Similar stories of giant rats have been reported by pest controllers in Glasgow, the Scottish borders and Swindon. The species has developed a genetic mutation which means substances approved by the EU to control rat populations has no effect on them.”

The strange and wonderful people who live in the Arctic: “The people living on the Arctic Circle are often mysterious to the world’s southerners, obscured by coverings of fur and snow. But now the lives of those who call the far north home have been captured by London-based photographer Cristian Barnett. The photographer traveled to the eight countries along the 66 degree 33 minutes north latitude marker, taking pictures of the inhabitants for his book Life on the Line. Looking to capture the extraordinary lives of people who did not live exactly on the line, the photographer expanded his scope to include some individuals within 35 miles of the Arctic Circle. He encountered a man who described himself as a ‘master of glibness and sausage poet’ and everyone from reindeer herders to hair dressers. Many Arctic towns and cities rely on local rivers, though they remain frozen solid for most of the year. ‘It’s not actually an extreme environment in a lot of cases,’ he says. ‘Mostly it’s not that difficult of a place to live’ he said.”

Is this the world’s most talented person? Extreme unicyclist braves 550ft drop on ride around edge of Romania’s tallest dam: “An extreme unicyclist risked life and limb by cycling around the rim of the tallest dam in Romania for a TV show – without a safety harness. Facing a drop of nearly 550ft, Flaviu Cernescu is shown on camera steadying himself and getting into position. As the wind howls the 31-year-old daredevil kicks off from a standing start and begins negotiating the rim of the Vidraru dam at quite a pace – with his arms outstretched for balance. He can be heard breathing heavily throughout the clip while bystanders watch on in nervous anticipation. Upon completing the stunt the daredevil dismounts his unicycle and punches the air in relief, receiving a congratulatory cheer in the process. The feat of bravery will be shown in full on World’s Most Talented, a new series on Watch.”

“Guerilla public service” man built a perfect copy of public road sign: “On August 5th, 2001, after two decades of Caltrans neglecting to fix its own simple mistake, a passionate artist from out of state, with significantly less funds and resources, successfully altered the sign that had given freeway frequenters so much grief for years. He did it with a handful of his friends and under the cover of early morning, fearing all along that he would be arrested, but he also knew he had passed the point of no return. And then, the most interesting thing of all occurred — Ankrom wasn’t arrested. Why? Because all his homework had protected him from detection. His sign was truly indistinguishable from all the others, and it only got taken down (nearly a full decade later) because of routine maintenance work. Upon the replacement sign’s erection, Caltrans themselves had finally added I-5 North [sign] to its edifice.

Sign language is a hit: “An Australian sign language interpreter has become an internet sensation after his performance at a press conference over the cyclone which has caused £1billion in damage across eastern Australia. Mark Cave was standing beside Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk at a press conference, when reaction to his efforts started to trend on Twitter. People were impressed by Mr Cave’s expressive facial features and dramatic hand gestures as he warned deaf people about the approaching storm. Mr Cave was using Auslan, an Australian version of sign language, to deliver his message. Premier Palaszczuk was giving advice about the impending Category Five Cyclone which was about to hit Queensland. Charlie Swinbourne, editor of Limping Chicken, a blog for the deaf community said someone using sign language will change their mannerisms to emphasise certain words in the same way hearing people can do it with the inflection of their voice.”

A real loser: “A woman shot and killed an intruder who had just smashed through the front window in her Franklinton home about 5 this morning, Columbus police said. The intruder had already been chased out of a house across the street, where he had broken in through an unsecured back door, said Sgt. David Sicilian, supervisor of the third-shift homicide squad. At the first house, he was confronted by a resident and dove out a second-floor window, Sicilian said. That resident watched him crawl across the street to the woman’s house at 107 N. Guilford Ave. After he entered through the window, he encountered the woman, who had been sleeping on the couch with a loaded gun, Sicilian said. She fired. The man died at Mount Carmel West hospital.”

Video fan to make tidy profit as 1908 camera goes up for auction: “A film camera is expected to fetch £20,000 at auction at Newbury, Berkshire later this year. The Kinemacolor changed cinema on its launch in 1908, allowing the capture of moving footage in colour. The camera, one of the oldest surviving pieces of equipment, will go under the hammer later this year after being put up for sale by a private owner. Previously Kinemacolour projectors have sold for around £4,000 at auctions held by Christies in London. In 2012, footage taken using the cameras emerged, with sharp moving images of London in the early 1900s shown in colour for the first time. The process came about after years of tireless work by inventor Edward Turner. When he died, a colour system he had devised to record moving pictures was passed on to American Charles Urban. Turner had established that by combining the three primary colours (red, blue and green), film makers would be able to depict any other hues.”

No ambulance available in bureaucratized Britain so doctor drives patient to hospital in his own car: “A family doctor has told how he took a seriously ill patient to hospital himself because no ambulance was available. Dr Tony Shaw drove 76-year-old Richard Moses to hospital in his own car after being told there would be a two-hour wait for paramedics to turn up. And when the two men arrived at James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough, there was no sign of a porter so Dr Shaw found a wheelchair and pushed his patient to a ward. Mr Moses had gone to Dr Shaw’s surgery in Darlington with what he thought was a virus. But his condition deteriorated as he waited for his appointment and staff diagnosed a heart condition which required the urgent fitting of a pacemaker. Dr Shaw said: ‘I made the decision to take him to James Cook in my car and one of our nurse practitioners very kindly offered to come with me. Mr Moses was fitted with a pacemaker and has made a full recovery.”